Day 301, or October the 28th. I am the light
of the world. Our thoughts today are from John
chapter 8, verse 12. When Jesus spoke again to
the people, he said, I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life. And now the
big picture surrounding this verse. Our Bible
passage today covers three more of John's signs
of Jesus, with accompanying teaching from Jesus.
He tells us that Jesus is the light of the world,
the good shepherd, and the door or entrance gate.
It is thought that Jesus declared himself to
be the light of the world around the time of
the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, or the festival
of lights. The date for this is November or December
and coincides roughly with the Christian festival
of Christmas. You may have seen Hanukkah cards
when you were shopping for your Christmas cards.
And now our action step for today. When Jesus
shines his light on the world, that includes
shining on you and me too. Most of us don't mind
light being shone into other people's lives,
but often we try to keep our own indiscretions
hidden. In these days of everything seemingly
being available to anyone who looks hard enough
with the aid of the internet, it's a timely reminder
that Jesus doesn't need such sophisticated equipment.
He has already shone his light into our hearts
and found them riddled with sin. That's why he
went to Calvary. Don't stop your thought process
there, however. When you get a glimpse into the
dark recesses of someone else's life, don't rush
to sit on the judgment throne. That's God's prerogative
and his alone. If all our innermost thoughts
and actions were laid open to the world, we would
probably all die of embarrassment. Well, Jesus
has already seen everything and yet still loves
us. Isn't that amazing? Rejoice in the fact that
he accepts us as we are. and then try to do the
same with others who cross your path, even when
they don't appear to be as respectable as you
are.